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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

 

 

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "David Ellis" <davidellis02@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: davidellis@in-box.net
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:38:56 +0000
Subject: WHY HAVE YOU NOT RESPONDED TO MY MAIL? THE FUNDS IS AWAITING...................

WHY HAVE YOU NOT RESPONDED TO MY MAIL? THE FUNDS IS
AWAITING...................
Dear Friend,
Firstly, this is not to cause you embarrassment, I am
MR. DAVID ELLIS, a personal friend and business
associate to late Mr. Robert Ebner(until his death)
who used to be a private contractor with the Shell
Petroleum Development Company in Saudi Arabia. On
December 25th, 2003, my friend and his wife with their
three children were involved in an auto crash, all
occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost their
lives.
Since then, I have made several enquiries with his
country embassy to locate any of his extended
relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful. After
these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to
contact you with this proposal. I have contacted you
to assist in repatriating this huge amount of money
left behind by my friend before they get confiscated
or declared unserviceable by the Finance Firm where
these huge deposit was lodged.
The deceased had a deposit presently valued USD30M
which I am aware of and the finance firm has issued to
his personal attorney a notice to provide his next of
kin or Beneficiary by Will otherwise have the account
confiscated within the next thirty official working
days.
Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the
relatives for almost a year now as well as the
attorney, I therefore seek your consent to present
you as the next of kin/Will Beneficiary to the
deceased so that the proceeds of this account valued
at USD30M can be paid to you.
Don't worry how this is going to be done. All I need
from you is your consent to participate fully. As soon
as I get your positive resolve to stand as the
next-of-kin, I will give you further directives on how
to go about it.
The funds will be disbursed or shared in these
percentages, 50% for me, 30% for you, 10% for TSUNAMI
VICTIMS while the balance 10% for the VICTIMS of HURRICANE CATRINA .All
I
require is your honest Co-operation,
Confidentiality and Trust to enable us see this
transaction through.
I guarantee you that this will be executed under a
legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any
breach of the law.
I am presently in London and I ask for your
cooperation to provide me the following information:
1. full name(s)
2. your telephone and fax numbers
3. your current physical Address.
Your urgent response will be highly anticipated and
appreciated.
Best regards.
Mr. David Ellis


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